How has a game POSITIVELY affected your life?

[ZombieGenesis]

With all the discussion of games and their real world values, especially with the Supreme Court hearing and all, I'd like to hear from people whom gaming has touched in a positive way. We've heard enough cases of inbreds blaming FPS's for their misdeeds, let us touch on the other side of the argument!

I for one went into a career in law as a direct result of the Phoenix Wright games for DS. Quite literally I now have a practicing degree in Law because of a video game.

 

[LarenzoAOG]

Metro 2033 made me more open minded.

 

[the_pleasure_is_mine]

Well this is more of a general gaming thing... when I realised I game more than 50+ hours a week, I'm interested in and very good with computers and I enjoy coding a lot more than most other people in 6th form, I decided that I;m going to strive to become a game designer.

I suppose motivation is a positive right?

 

[RustyMcPlwood]

I havent had something as life changing as that happen i just play them for fun, i guess thats positive.

 

[RatRace123]

Mario Kart 64 helped me make friends, no seriously. Back in the mid 90s, in grade school, if you had an N64, you were considered awesome. I actually met one of my best friends while talking about good ol' Mario Kart 64.

That was in kindergaten, we've been friends for 13 years.

Thank you, Nintendo.

 

[LogicNProportion]

1. FFVII helped me get through with a a very tough spot in my life where I was contemplating suicide. Thus, it's one of my forever-favorites.
2. The Metal Gear Solid series has introduced me to a bunch of new ideas about the world, law, war, etc. Also, it inspired me to grow my beard and to pay attention to revolvers. Big Boss and Ocelot for the White House! It's also made me more self-conscience about my actions.
3. Halo has brought me many friends in life, and we've spent many nights with each other venting or pouring our souls out. Basically opening up, which, of course, is hard for teenage boys like us.

 

[AvsJoe]

Worms: Armageddon broke me out of my shell back in high school and was a major factor in stamping out my depression. I made a lot of great friends and got back into gaming with the help of that cute little game.

 

[Virus49]

Believe it or not World of Warcraft has made me a bit more of a social person.

 

[PatrickXD]

Umm... I've been gaming since I could read so I don't really notice any positive (or, indeed, negative) affects on my personality. It's just part of who I am.

 

[soren7550]

Let's see...

- Perfect Dark Zero really inspired me to write a lot (stories, books and the like, not rants about how it sucks or anything like that [not that I think it sucks])

- Half Life 2 helped make my American History class interesting (mainly because I kept trying to prove the historical significance of Ravenholm)

- BioShock encouraged me to read some Ayn Rand willingly (ok, so maybe reading The Fountainhead isn't a positive)

- The Half Life series, BioShock and Mass Effect helped me pass my science class

- Ghostbusters: The Video Game, Team Fortress 2, Perfect Dark Zero (and possibly Fable 3, time & money pending) have led to me creating some awesome cosplays

- The Half Life series, Mass Effect series, BioShock, Fable 3, Modern Warfare 1 & 2 (and probably a few others that I can't remember at the moment) have altered how I look at and go through life for the better (I tend to think things through a bit more and think more about the consequences)

- The Left 4 Dead & Modern Warfare series helped make me a few guy friends and it made my Business Math class a hell of a lot of fun

There's many other ways that many other games positively impacted me (like Fable 3 making me truly emotional for a change), but I think I've yammered on long enough.

 

[Lowbreed]

Bragging rights?
Having something to fill my holidays etc with?

Meet new people / become better friends with others mainly I suppose.

Oh, and how could I forget, the amount of new bands / genres I was introduced to by games like GTA, GH and the likes.

 

[CrazyMedic]

I have reflexes and awareness in the 10th percentile of all the kids in my district.

 

[oplinger]

I can't put it into a set event, but games usually include little tidbits of life advice sometimes they me be absolutely crazy, but the idea behind them is good. I'd be an idiot to say they haven't affected me <_< most of the views in games have had some small affect on me. Without video games I would not be as awesome as I am today

....But they've never given me any massive revelations. That usually came from thinking about random things in that weird time of silence just before you go to sleep...

...hope that's not just me

 

[The Night Shade]

MGS 1,i learn english with that game

 

[TOGSolid]

Being part of the The Specialists community for as long as I was introduced me to guys I'm still good friends with to this day.

8+ years yo. That's a long damn time in internet years.

 

[badgersprite]

I don't think I would have aspired to a career in creative writing and media if I hadn't played Final Fantasy VII as a little kid. Yeah. I think that's fair to say.

The Final Fantasy games were basically the first game I played that made me appreciate story and writing, and, if they hadn't gotten me interested in writing, I probably wouldn't have gotten the practice I needed that helped me overcome my dyslexia. So, yeah, it didn't just help me in creative writing; it also led to me getting the practice I needed to improve my writing in essays, as well.

So, basically, if I ever go on to produce an original fictional work of any description or in any kind of artistic medium when I'm out of university, I owe it to playing Final Fantasy when I was about seven or eight.

 

[Nooners]

Firstoff, to the OP, let me say that I love this thread.

OT, my interest and eventual boredom in the Guitar Hero/Rock Band series led to me picking up the bass, and was my first introduction to my favorite band (Avenged Sevenfold). Also-it's just a great time with my friends.

Several games (Mass Effect, Assassin's Creed 2, Oblivion, Fallout) shaped my appreciation for epic stories and the the case of the former 2, strong characters-something that carried over into my judging of other stories.

The old Sonic games really were my childhood games, and made me appreciate the creative spark that is found in so many other games-something that kick-started my imaginative spirit (along with the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers) that really defined me as a person.

 

[astrav1]

FFVII and VIII were a big influence on who I became today, namely the stoicism, mental strength and the fact that I'm a bit of a lone wolf. All games in general provided me with hours of entertainment each day and also inspired me to work out a lot so I became strong and nimble. Indiana Jones and the Emperors Tomb inspired me to become an actor. The MGS series really changed the way I thought about death and violence, made me somewhat of a philosophical thinking man. So yes while I was influenced by Video games, they have only inspired me to do good things thus far.